Earlier this year, I shared a few iPhone Apps that would be perfect for the tradeshow environment. With the introduction of the iPad, many immediately saw the value of this niche product for the event world. With a few months for a library of exclusively design apps to accumulate, I've decided to follow up with a list of my favorite applications.
I recently had a chance to attend the worlds largest hospitality technology show, I had this opportunity thanks to two of Echelon's newest clients Cetis, Inc. and Intelity who were exhibiting. Cetis, Inc. is a leader in hospitality and enterprise phones, you can trace their roots back to 1983 (who doesnt love the 80's). Intelity is a fairly new technology company that gives guests of the hotel the capability to order any and all services offered by the property through the use of your iPad, iPhone and other devices. Simply put, you can order room service, valet service, etc all with one touch on your favorite device.
I've been personally intrigued by the development of foursquare over recent months and it's increasing potential for usage at events. Back in January, Intel partnered with foursquare during the CES event and offered unique badges for check-ins and special events. This took an effort from both parties to achieve. While it opened the possibilities for the future of foursquare and event marriages, it without little doubt requires the compliance from (and and open wallet) the developers at foursquare to make a campaign of similar correlation possible.
"Go-Green." What had started as a revolution in aiding our environment, the crusade has since grow in to a multi-billion dollar cash cow of an industry, often times muddied by false claims and a multitude of unverified green products. The tradeshow industry has been largely targeted by the movement, with green exhibit displays, promotional items and even green tradeshows themselves moving towards the forefront of the industry. Whether you support a green tradeshow, as a means to assist the environment or as a strategy to reduce costs on non-essential materials, how can you ensure that your green strategy is legitimate?
I am constantly amazed by the continuous advances in technology such as navigation devices, iPhones, etc. They are functional, desirable, very cool and fun to use; in some cases they are also a fashion statement (i.e. my sexy white 3Gs iPhone). If you are anything like me, you rely on your smart phone to look up the number of your favorite carryout spot, points of interest, email, weather, answer everyday questions, or to use any one of the 50,000 available apps.
The unfortunate product created by combining a struggling economy and face-to-face meetings has been a steady decline at tradeshows over the past 18 months. While this has increased the quality of the attendee, there's still a large audience that your message is failing to reach. But down attendance is not synonymous with disinterest. In this climate, companies are being forced to send only individuals that are essential to their decision making process to events. Others simply opt out all together to alleviate the pinch. Still, there are a number of ways to market your brand to the face-to-face attendee and extend it to those who are missing.
